Friday, March 25, 2011

Book Stop #10 of Love Ya Like a Sister: Mundie Moms

Katie at Mundie Moms reviews Love Ya Like a Sister. She finds that "[to] be honest, this wasn't my cup of tea. I had a very hard time really getting into the story and I'm not sure why."

I'm not naive enough, though, to think that all readers will equally connect with my novel. The good news is that she doesn't say the novel is poorly or sloppily written. I'm OK with a "this one's not for me."

Here are a few of her comments that indicate her appreciation:

Love Ya Like A Sister is a very raw, honest story about teenagers making the best of the situations they're in.

What I liked about the story was the dynamics between some of the characters . . .

A few elements stood out to me, and that's how these friends became more like a family, and helped each other when no one else would.

As a school teacher of over 30 years, the real life situations I have seen are pretty "raw," as the Mundie Moms review indicates. I have been to three funerals of students over the years and missed two others because they occurred during summer vacations. In many ways, Love Ya Like a Sister isn't realistic enough: none of the main characters end up pregnant, on drugs, in the hospital, or dead. Things work out. Loyalty to friends and family is recognized and affirmed.

I have seen many teenagers growing up, trying not to make too many mistakes, in over their heads with no one to talk to except their friends who have no more life experience than they do, parents too busy trying to make ends meet or deal with their own issues to have enough time for their children.

It's midnight Saturday night, and where is your child?

For school teachers, this is not a slogan. It's a chilling reality they see in the faces of their students every Monday morning. For many students, school is not the biggest issue in their lives. And for many students, school is the safest, most supportive environment they experience in their 24-hour day.

I had never considered the word raw an apt description of my novel. Maybe Katie at Mundie Moms is right. Unfortunately, raw is also an apt description for the lives of many of our teenagers.